Tim Follin

Despite not considering himself adept at any live instruments, and composing several soundtracks beyond the fifth generation of video game consoles using samples, Follin disliked sampled music. Instead, Follin strove to make his music sound as close to live instrumentation as possible. His most notable work using sampled instruments was the soundtrack to Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future, an experience he enjoyed, but also felt frustrated with on account of "a lack of equipment and resources – such as a string orchestra and choir!" Follin finds orchestral music inherently more human-sounding and listenable.

However, throughout 2012 to 2014, Follin worked on the video-based adventure game Contradiction as programmer, video editor and composer.

Since semi-retiring from video game music composition, Follin has gone on to work in the television industry, working as director of photography for TV ads and dramas, as well as creating graphics, CGI, and music for commercials. In April 2010, Follin joined Matt Barraclough and Paul Ambler to form ABF Pictures Ltd., a company making TV commercials, web videos, and music promos. In 2013, he started a company to embrace his various interests and skills, called Baggy Cat Ltd.

Around August 2005, Follin announced on his website "with much delight" that he had chosen to stop composing music for video games, citing its irregular work not providing a substantial income, light-heartedly adding that the situation caused him "distress and illness." The tenuous nature of game development caused several instances of Follin being hired and subsequently having the project shelved. Follin noted that Starsky & Hutch had been in development for around three years before eventually being released.

Follin has written, directed, produced, and composed for two short films: Body Counting and The Sun Circle. Body Counting won the Best Short Film under £5,000 award at the Salford Film Festival in November 2004.

The 2003 multiplatform release Starsky & Hutch was given a funk-style score by Follin, who said at the time, "This is the project I had hoped I would get one day. I've always loved Starsky & Hutch and it's [sic] original title music." While with Software Creations, Follin had previously arranged the Starsky & Hutch television series' theme as the title music to the 1991 NES release Treasure Master.

Follin joined the development team of Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future as the title's lead composer around mid-1998, leaving Attila Heger no longer responsible for providing the entirety of the soundtrack. (Heger was made primarily responsible for scoring the game's cutscenes.) Follin had been offered the composer position by Sega UK producer David Nulty, who was a fan of Follin's Commodore 64 work. The soundtrack received very favourable reviews from Edge, DC-UK, and Official Dreamcast Magazine.

Follin felt the idea of computer music was "a silly one to begin with," as soundchips from the earliest platforms (e.g. ZX Spectrum) were only meant to produce sound effects. As early as 1994, Follin expressed his desire to move away from scoring video games and transition to films, stating that he preferred never to work with chip-generated music again along with his hopes that the games industry would not move backwards from the emerging standard of CD audio. Whether dealing with the audio limitations of older consoles or a game's narrow style guidelines when composing for modern soundtracks, Follin regarded the challenge of creating music within constraints to be an interesting part of working in video game music.

Beside contributing the soundtrack with brother Geoff, Follin recorded live sound effects for 1993 SNES title Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.

Citing a declining work environment, Follin departed Software Creations in 1993 (with his final title there being Rock N' Roll Racing).

In a 1990 interview, Follin expressed "a bit of desolation" over the prospect of no longer composing for the Commodore 64, stating "I don't see myself staying with this machine," perhaps sensing the transition occurring in the European gaming marketplace as the third generation of video and computer game platforms reached its end. Follin's final Commodore 64 release came with 1991's Gauntlet III.

Hired by Richard Kay, Tim followed brother Mike in moving to Software Creations in 1987, his first full-time job, where he spent a significant portion of his career. Follin's arranged soundtrack to Bubble Bobble was his first written for a soundchip, the AY-3-8910.

Timothy John Follin (born 19 December 1970) is an English former video game music composer who has written tracks for a variety of titles and home gaming systems, including the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, Nintendo Entertainment System, Mega Drive, Super NES, Game Boy, Dreamcast, and PlayStation.